Behaviour Assessment and Support Service

for Primary Schools and Parents

Listen And Learn Centre offers consultancy services to schools and families. Behavioural Assessments & Support Services is intended to assist primary school students who are assessed as presenting with “behaviours of concern”.

What are Behaviours of Concern?

Functional Behaviours of concern often arise in the context of learning, developmental disability or giftedness, and include both active and passive behaviours as diverse as withdrawal, disengagement and avoidance, to refusal, verbal and/or physical aggression and having difficulties with emotional self-regulation. This then creates concern for the student and or others, as a result of its intensity, frequency or duration.

These behaviours can create an obstacle to the student or other students, in the process of participating and achieving academically and socially and these behaviours may undermine directly or indirectly the students’ right of dignity or quality of life. In some cases it may pose a risk to the health and safety of the student or those with whom the student interacts.

Framework

There are many aspects of behaviours of concern and for this reason, the framework that we adopt is a combination of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and Individualised Positive Behaviour Support (I-PBS, including the Pyramid Model).

Functional Behaviour

ABA is the method of systematically applying the principles of behavioural conditioning to understand and change specific behaviours. At its core, ABA uses the method of a “functional behavioural assessment” to determine the purpose of the behaviour or its function, which then enables interventions to be designed to assist the student to fulfil that function in a more socially appropriate way, through elimination of the triggers that elicit that behaviour, and providing consequences that reinforce positive replacement behaviours and extinguish the behaviour of concern.

I-PBS is an evidence based model for understanding and changing a student’s behaviour of concern. It employs a holistic approach considering the impact of the student’s environment (e.g. school, family) and own make-up (e.g. temperament, learning needs). Strategies for improvement are based on teaching the student appropriate skills and making changes within the student’s environment and social systems. The I-PBS approach also emphasises the value of involving of relevant stakeholders, respect for the student, inclusion and preservation of dignity of all.

Our conceptual and working framework is also multi-tiered in seeking to provide intensive, individualized interventions; developing social-emotional teaching strategies; enhancing supportive environments and resting on a solid foundation of strength, including building positive relationships with students, families and colleagues.

Assessments & Individualised Intervention

Functional assessment protocols include a battery of clinical screening questionnaires, a comprehensive history, formal psychometric measures, clinical interview, classroom observations and case discussion with relevant parties. Consistent with our client-centred approach and I-PBS, we seek information from teachers and parents. This ensures a comprehensive and systematic approach which informs
the development of an effective intervention program.

The functional behaviour assessment protocol uses a range of tools to gain as much insight as possible into the functions of the behaviours of concern and the maintaining factors.

Our approach is to build an individualised intervention plan, with the aim to:

Equip parents/teaching staff to be more confident and better equipped to manage behavioural concerns.

Improved attendance and engagement.

Adaptive changes on multiple levels in students, families and school programs.

Improved capacity by the student to self-regulate emotions, self-monitor and modify behaviour.

Decrease in behaviours of concern and increase in adaptive behaviours.

Increased capacity of the student to successfully access the curriculum.

Decrease in risks associated with behaviours of concern.

Empower parents to feel better able to be an integral part in identifying and supporting their child.

Increase competence/confidence by all parties in promoting socio-emotional development of students.

Interest and benefits from on-going support, training and technical support.

Improved relationships between student, parent(s) and school.

Are you considering our therapy programs for your child?

Get in touch with our friendly staff to arrange a consultation and assessment